easyJet boosted by bad weather

LOW-cost airline easyJet, one of the biggest operators at Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester airports, has nearly halved its losses in the first half, helped by Easter falling earlier than a year ago and strong bookings from customers wanting to escape recent bad weather.

The second-largest budget airline behind Ryanair reported a pre-tax loss of £61m for the six months to the end of March, a traditionally loss-making period. Last year it made a £112m interim loss.

As with many holiday companies easyJet makes its profit in its second half, which includes the busy summer holiday period.

Totasl revenues grew 9.3% to £1.6bn, while revenue per seat grew 8.6%,  better than the 6-8% it previously expected, driven by strong bookings in the run up to Easter.

Capacity on its flights rose by 3.3%, slightly short of its 3.5 percent forecast, it said, due to the bad weather causing a higher-than-expected number of cancellations.

The airline has expanded in the North West in recent months, launching the region’s first direct service to Moscow from Manchester.